The Slow Wheels of Justice

The slow wheels of justice have been turning for nearly a year, and they have finally gotten to the point on January 5, 2012 where a Senator will have to face charges for an incident from February 2011.

The ex-girlfriend of Senator Scott Bundgaard, Aubry Ballard, thinks that he ought to be kicked out of the Arizona Senate already, before the decision is even made. She told about the incident that happened on Highway 51 on February 25, 2011. The two of them had attended a fundraiser, where they had at least some liquor, and they got into a heated argument on the way home. “He flipped out and said f-word, f-word and hit me twice in the chest,” Ballard said, demonstrating a closed-fist hit.

She says that she slapped him in the face and then reached for her cellphone which he grabbed and threw out the window. He slammed on the brakes and got out in the middle fo the HOV lane to search for the phone, pulling her out of the car and throwing her on the ground in the process.

“All I could think of was we’re going to die out here on this freeway,” she said. “He was so angry. I remember praying, saying, ‘God, please help me.’”

He shook her, bent her fingers back and shoved her against the median of the freeway. Witnesses confirm seeing him treat Ms. Ballard in this manner. Although he smelled of liquor, he claimed that he had not been drinking and he refused to take a sobriety test. He also told police that he had legislative immunity because the Senate was in session then, and so they were not able to arrest and hold him. Ms. Ballard, however, was held at the jail for 17 hours.

He says that she was reaching for a gun and he was just trying to stop her. He says that he did not intend to cause her any harm. His lawyer says that he did not break any laws and therefore he should not have to step down from the legislature. Others believe that he should have and would have been charged with domestic abuse and DUI if he had not claimed legislative immunity.

He said – she said. The courts will have to sort it all out. In any case, it seems to be a case where drinking alcohol and driving home afterwards was not a great idea.